Examining Second-Grade Music Students’ Creativity and Agency During Game-Like Music Activities in Music Learning Centers

The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of my second-grade students’ creativity and agency in game-like music activities during peer-to-peer social interactions in music learning centers. Following were the guiding research questions for this study. During music learning centers: 1) How did students create game-like music activities, 2) What types of play did they demonstrate, 3) How did they describe their experiences, and 4) What music characteristics did they demonstrate? I collected data during three 50-minute second-grade music classes over the course of two weeks at St. Peter’s Catholic School (SPCS). I used the following data collection sources to achieve triangulation: video-recorded, whole class opening discussions; video- and voice-recorded, music learning centers; moderate participant observer field notes; video-recorded, whole class game demonstrations; and video-recorded, whole class closing discussions. Following my data analysis, I identified five emergent themes regarding the second-grade music students’ creativity and agency: Students created game-like music activities using a variety of organizational music structures and peer-to-peer interaction strategies; students engaged in different developmental stages of social and cognitive play; students incorporated their lived experiences into their game-like music activities; students valued their music learning center experiences for various reasons, and they transferred their game-like music activities to scenarios outside of music class; students incorporated ostinati in triple v meter, rhythm patterns in duple meter, and tonal patterns in major tonality into their game-like music activities. Through those findings, I gained insights regarding my second-grade music students’ creativity and agency. Based on those findings, I present personal pedagogical implications regarding the second-grade students’ use of organizational music structures and peer-to-peer interaction strategies, rule creation capabilities, and music vocabularies. I conclude by suggesting recommendations for future research.